Carrying Our Heavy Burdens
by Gaioumon
Summary: 100 years later after Jack becomes a guardian, Pitch tries again to defeat the guardians with a different plan. The guardians think that they can handle Pitch but Man in Moon says otherwise. Manny doesn't choose another guardian but asks them to seek help from an ancient, battle-worn warrior: the Dog of War. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello and welcome to my humble abode. More information will be at the bottom of this chapter. I apologize in advance for any grammar or spelling errors. I hope you enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians. (I wouldn't be here otherwise...)**

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**Prologue**

I quickly sat up in a cold sweat from a dream that I never remembered what about. I only knew that I had to go and meet someone right now. At the time, I didn't know who I needed to meet and why I had to meet them in the middle of the night.

Panicking that I might be too late, I quickly but quietly got up from the grassy floor of my family's tent for they were still asleep. I didn't bother putting on any of my clothes and lightly ran out of my tent into the night with only a light cloth hanging down from my hip. I tiptoed around the guards that are widely stationed around the tribe and stayed in the shadows whenever I could. When I was out of ear shot of the guards, I ran as fast as I could in the calf length grass towards the forest that was said to be haunted with demons.

As I ran through the plains, I asked myself 'Why am I leaving all that I know of to follow this…feeling?' Even though I realized this, I could not stop my feet from following this invisible path. It was like my body was being called by this someone that I had to meet and I could not ignore it.

When I got in the haunted forest, I didn't slow my pace at all and if anything I went faster. I was surprised that I didn't trip over any of the twisting roots and so surefooted in a place that I have never been in. Even though the forest was very dense with trees, I suddenly saw a clearing up ahead and finally slowed my frantic pace down. It was strange. I was sure that I just ran with all my strength in a distance that should have taken a grown man a day or two to walk, and yet I crossed it in a hour or two and wasn't even the slight bit winded.

In the circular clearing, I saw a huge oak tree with branches higher than the pine trees on the outer edge and stretching out as if trying to touch the pine trees. Even with its thick trunk and many branches what stopped me was not the tree itself but what or who was at its base lying on the forest floor. Lying on its side with its head facing towards me was a huge wolf but at the same time humanlike and it was dying by what I didn't know. I walked up to it with awe and dropped to my knees in front of it because even in dying it was still a beautiful and majestic animal.

It was covered with black fur on its back, an underbelly with white fur, and tan in the middle of the two. Its chest and broad shoulders like that of a human and its front paws like hands but still with fur, pads, and claws. It still had the hind legs, tail, and head of a wolf but looked like it could stand on two legs. Its claws looked like they could shear through a full grown man in a few swipes and I saw that this beast was made of pure muscles. Even at realized that I could die by its hand, I was not afraid of it.

I petted its side softly and closed my eyes saying, "I'm sorry, my brother in spirit. I hope the afterlife treats you well."

When I opened my eyes, it was staring at me with a light blue eye that only a wolf can have. It spoke with a voice so deep that I could feel the beast rumbling with my hand still on its side, and said to me, "I appreciate the concern, young one, but I still have a little more fight in me yet. I won't go down like this for I need to ask you if you could do me a favor."

I moved my hand off of its side and laid it in my lap. After my shock left me, I said, "What is it you need me to do, my brother?"

It chuckled and said, "You have the spirit of a true wolf. I need you to take my place in this world for I am the last of my kind. The others were too afraid to try passing on their spirit. Cowards." It snarled the last word at the air.

I said with no hesitation, "It would be my honor."

"It seems like my call was answered." It got up slowly from its side to sit in front of me with its legs crossed and motion me to do the same. While it was rising, I saw that its right eye was pierced by an arrow with it still there. It put its left thumb in the middle of my forehead and its right hand over my heart and again motioned its head to me to do the same to it. It had to lower itself down for me to place my thumb on its head.

"Only think of me, listen to your surroundings and say what I say." It said to me seriously. Eyes closed, I nodded my head when I was ready.

"Mother Earth and Father Sky,

We ask of you to grant our request

For we are of one Heart,

One Mind,

One Spirit,

One Soul,

But of two separate bodies.

We ask you to merge from what is two to one,

So that we can continue our duty

That you have so wholly entrusted in us."

When it started to speak, I immediately spoke with it without thinking or knowing the words ahead of time. After we finished the chant, I held my breath and I think it did, too. It only was for a few seconds until I felt the change. It started with the beast's memories from its beginning to the moment I found it. After what felt like years, the beast started to fade from my hands. It felt like the beast became a ghost or spirit and it was going through me. I didn't dare to open my eyes to see it for I was afraid I would break the ritual.

When I felt the beast disappear, I felt my body start to change. I screamed in pure agony as my very bones shift, fur growing everywhere, nails becoming claws, tail growing, teeth sharping, and my head becoming that of a wolf's. Not only did I feel all of these changes, but I also could hear them all and that was worse. After the pain receded a little, I try to stand but my body had other plans for a new pain came on suddenly. I screamed again as I felt this new pain in my left eye that felt like the arrow that pierced the beast's right eye.

I could have sworn that I heard someone say, "_Here's a gift for you to continue your duty_."

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**A/N: Now to talk your ears off. I'm kidding if you didn't catch it. Don't worry. The guardians will come in the next chapter if people like this story and want me to continue it.**

** 'Why?' you might ask.**

** I say to you 'Why continue a story if no one else likes it?' **

**Please review so this story can continue. I don't care if it is one word (hopefully not a bad word..). I will answer any questions you have if it doesn't spoil the story. **

**Another note, this is my first fanfiction story. I thought it might be nice to stop it on a little cliffhanger..**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hello and welcome back, readers. I really have no logical excuse to give to you for how late this chapter is. I deeply apologize for that. I forgot to mention this earlier but this story is actually inspired by two other stories: "Life's No Fun Without a Good Scare" by TrickRTreatTheGuardian and "Blizzard" by cheekyrox. If you see either of these stories, check them out. As always, I apologize for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes that you see.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rise of the Guardians. (I wouldn't be writing this story if I did...) **

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Chapter 1: The Cycle Repeats

North was in his workshop thinking of a new wonder to create with his ice as usual. When suddenly a yeti burst in though this time not breaking anything, North jumped a little in surprise at the interruption and quickly turned in his chair to face the yeti.

"Vat did Jack do?" said North with a hint of annoyance. Years of Jack playing pranks on the yetis and elves had him prepare for almost anything. The yeti shook his head and gabbled in his strange language in response.

"You sure?" said North and the yeti nodded.

He quickly got up from his chair and walked in his heavy boots, and was there in a few minutes with his long strides towards the globe. Grumbling along the way about the elves and pushed some yetis out of his way, he stopped in front the Guardians' symbol on the floor.

He looked up at the full moon and spread his arms wide saying, "Man in Moon! Vat is big news?"

Manny said nothing, but shined his moonlight in front of North with the shadows of a G and a phone. North did what Manny said and called the other Guardians by pushing the lever to show the Northern Lights. Turning away for the control panel in front of the globe, he said to the yetis and elves, "Prepare for guest!"

While waiting on the other Guardians to show, he started to pace from the control panel to the fireplace and sometimes stopping to look up at the moon wondering what has Manny so upset to call all the Guardians. After a few minutes that felt like hours to North, the Tooth Fairy comes rushing in with five mini fairies in tow through the hole at the top of the factory. Before even Tooth could question North, E. Aster Bunnymund burst open the huge doors of the factory and ran up towards the fireplace to warm his numbing feet. While Bunny was grumbling about the cold and Tooth telling her fairies directions, the Sandman flew in the same way as Tooth on his sand airplane and silently asked North why did he call them.

North said, "I do not know. Man in Moon said call Guardians."

The other two Guardians imminently stopped what they were doing and stared at each other in shock. What was shocking was not only that North didn't have a reason to call them, but also that the Man in Moon did not say why he called them. It was very unusual behavior for both North and Manny. When they recovered from the imminent shock, Bunny noticed that one of them was missing and said, "Speakin' of Guardians, where's Frostbite?"

That shook them from any leftover shock and they all turned in a complete circle looking for any clue where Jack Frost might be. When they couldn't see any clues, Tooth, who is used to giving orders to her troops, said to her fairies, "Spare any fairies to look from him in the Southern hemisphere. Bunny, check Burgess. It may be summer there but that won't stop him and after you're done there check Canada and Alaska. North, check Russia. Sandy, check the South Pole. Head out!"

After she said that, Tooth flew off with her fairies to help the search. The others stood there dumbfounded for only a second before they headed out to their assigned destination in their own way. Bunny through his tunnels, Sandy with his sand airplane, and North heading to his sleigh.

Of course, Bunny would be the one to find him but not in Burgess. He found Jack near the border between Canada and Alaska in Yukon sound asleep in a tree, and he was sure that Jack was part cat because he could sleep anywhere. He didn't even look in Burgess like Tooth told him to, but imminently went to where he was now with Jack, who hasn't realize that he had company. It was strange like Bunny knew where Jack was at. Before and a little bit after Jack became a Guardian, he and Bunny would fight like cats and dogs. It wasn't until about the time his first believer, Jamie Bennett, died almost 20 years ago that they just about completely stopped fighting. When that tragedy happened, Jack didn't get closer to North or Tooth, who were basically his parents, but got closer to Bunny and Sandy. Even though he got closer to the two of them, Jack still kept a certain distance and there were still things that he didn't tell them about. Of course, Bunny and Jack still tease each other like brothers but not to the point of being really mad and having a fist fight.

He walked as quietly as he could in the snow covered ground to the pine tree that Jack was asleep in, jumped up, grabbed the branch that Jack was on and let go. Bunny watched as the branch shook the now awake Jack and losing his balance on the branch and falling face first into the snow. He laughed so hard that he was holding his stomach as Jack pick himself off the ground and got his staff that was leaning on the tree that he was just in. Jack cocked one eyebrow in a look that said 'You done, yet?' Finally when Bunny looked at Jack, he remembered why he was here and cleared his throat and said "North called a meetin'. We came lookin' for ya when ya didn't show."

"For what?" Jack said.

"That's the problem. We don't know. Manny said ta call Guardians an' North did." Bunny said.

"Then we better start heading back. Don't want to keep Manny waiting." Jack said with his usual smirk. While Jack and Bunny used his tunnels heading back, Jack thought, 'Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that Pitch is involved? Why do I have bad feeling about this meeting? It's like North says I feel it in my belly.' When they made it in North's workshop, they waited for the others to return from their search. Bunny went to warm his numb paws at the fireplace again, and Jack flew to the ledge next to the right of the control panel and sat down on it facing the globe with his staff across his lap gripped tightly. They stay like that until the others return from their fruitless search.

When they did return, Tooth asked the one question that was all in their mind, "Where were you?"

"The lit'le bugga' was asleepin' in a bloody tree." Bunny said irritated at Jack.

Jack wasn't paying attention to the others and had no intention to answer them but said to the moon, "We're here. Now tell us why."

As the moon shone its light down on the Guardians' symbol, Jack got off the ledge and both Bunny and he walked over to the light, and they all stood around the circle and looked at moonlight on the floor waiting with mixed emotions. In the moonlight, it showed a portrait of Pitch Black and they all looked at each other with a little surprise and nervousness. They looked back down when they found out that wasn't all Manny wanted to say. He showed the Guardians' symbol that morphed into the word "need". Then, he morphed it into a shadow of an eye with a diagonal scar running through it that changed into a snowflake. After that, the moonlight faded and they all looked confused at Jack, who looked shocked at where Manny displayed his message. Quickly, that shock turned to anger and he spun around facing the darkness on the wall to his right in the passage with his staff held in a defensive stance. "Come out, you coward! I know you're there! I can smell your stench!" He practically snarled at the shadows silencing everyone in the room.

Out of the shadows walked a creature that even the Guardians didn't know existed. This creature was called by man a werewolf; but where people say that they are half-wolf and half-man, this one looked mostly like a wolf with only a few details that looked remotely human. The only thing that looked human was its paw-like hands, its chest and shoulders, and the way it stood up on two of its hind legs like Bunny. Its fur was as black as the shadows it came out off with only a white diagonal streak on its left eye going from its left to right like a scar and another white streak on top of its tail going from the base to the tip. It had two different eye colors that almost seem to glow. Its right eye was an icy blue that was very similar to Jack's eyes and its left eye with the white streak was gold. It was a whole head taller than North and very muscular for you could see its muscle through the fur. Its claws were as long and sharp as an eagle's talons. It walked towards Jack but stopped about a yard away and spoke in a so deep of a voice that it felt like the very earth rumbled and commanded respect, "So, the pup remembers some of my teachings."

"How could I forget?" Jack said sarcastically still with his staff up in a defensive stance.

"Whoa! Hold up there, mate! Can ya at least tell us who ya fightin' with? Then ya can finish." Bunny said after he recovered from his shock.

The beast had not taken its eyes off Jack the minute it stepped in the room until Bunny said something. It looked at each of the other Guardians looking at Jack last and then stared at Bunny. It made no move to introduce itself. Jack finally dropped his stance and sighed, "Fine."

He turned around facing the Guardians and said, "Everyone. This is Alpha. He comes from an ancient warrior/berserker-like race called Dogs of War and as the name implies he follows wars and it follows him. He is the one of seven others that all died leaving him to watch over the world and its wars."

"I am no longer Alpha for I have no pack to speak of. You can call me Felix." said the beast.

Jack looked over his right shoulder at Felix and raised one eyebrow asking a silent question.

"It's never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks, right?" Felix said giving a wolfish smirk at Jack.

Jack burst out laughing and turned around to grab Felix's right forearm. When Felix grabbed his forearm, Jack smirked and said, "Never."

Jack separated from Felix after they shook while Bunny looked at North and whispered disbelieving, "Do ya have any bloody idea wha' just happen?"

"No, but they are not fighting so that is good, no?" North whispered back to Bunny, then said to Felix, "You vill help us, yes?"

Both Jack and Felix looked at North when he spoke, and Felix gave a deep and hearty laugh but a little maniacally then suddenly stopped and answered somberly, "No. War does not choose a side. Victory does that. War is a neutral force for you always lose something that you cannot gain back." He pause thinking before continuing, "But if E. Aster Bunnymund can defeat me in a duel, then I will reconsider…and will someone tell the fairy to stop staring at me. I am starting to think she wants to challenge me." He said with a little snarl at the end while motioning towards Tooth.

Tooth took that has an invitation to stick her fingers in Felix's mouth and said while examining, "Oh, wow! I see where Jack gets his good teeth from! And your breath doesn't stink like a dog's!"

Suddenly, she was shoved into North, who caught her easily and set her down. Bunny and Sandy moved in front of them with boomerangs and sand whips in each respectable owners' hand. Felix stared menacing at Tooth and started walking towards her, but before he could take two steps Jack was in front of him with his hands up and saying, "Sh-She didn't know! She didn't know! She doesn't know the wolves' language like I do, Alpha!"

Felix blinked and looked at Jack like he just came out of a daze and said, "I see."

He cleared his throat and took a step back bowing like a gentleman and said, "I am sorry. I do not know what came over me. Please accept my humblest apology."

He stayed bowed like that until Tooth floated to him and softly laid a hand on his right shoulder said, "I accept your apology, but can you explain how you two know each other and what Jack said?"

He rose from his former position and said, "That is not my story to tell but the author's. If Jack wants you to know his past, he should be the one to tell it just like an author tells his story not a minor character inside the story. Besides, I need to be leaving soon to see if anyone new will join in this battle for this never-ending war."

"WAR!?" they all shout except Sandy, who had an exclamation and a question marks above his head.

"What is so surprising?" Felix said thoroughly confused at their reaction. "War is a series of battles. You have fought Pitch before and will continue to do so because of what each of you represent which also makes it never-ending."

"Well…When you put it that way, it makes sense but I never thought of it like that. Pitch is more of a nuisance that we have to take care of from time to time." Jack said.

"Nuisance!?" Felix growled at Jack. "That's not what the children of the world believe, Jack! To the very children whom you swore to protect, he is their greatest fear and worst nightmares come to life! You will fight him and continue to do so until he is put back where he belongs. Its time you take your new found job seriously and it seems that you are not the only one who needs to tell their story. Now, I need to leave to see the others."

"Wait! What do you mean? Who are you going to see?" Jack asked walking towards Felix and grabbing his right arm.

"If you do not know what I mean or who I am going to see, then it is not for you to know!" Felix snarled at Jack flinging him off like an annoying pest.

Jack propped himself up from the floor on his left elbow and looked shocked at Felix who bent in front of him nose to nose and in the ancient language of the wolves said, "_You forget. You find new pack. You leave old pack. Inside pack, no secrets. No pack, secrets._"

Felix snorted a little in Jack's face like an ox would, turned around and left the way he came without a word or a look back. Jack was still propped up from the floor looking shocked then threw his hands up falling on the floor and said, "I give up trying to figure that man out."

"Care ta explain how ya know him?" Bunny asked.

"No…But as much as it pains me to say this, Felix is right. In a pack, there are no secrets. You trust your pack members more than anything for they help you survive…Alright. Fine. I'll tell you what I know about him and how we are connected but you might want to sit down. It could take a while." Jack said looking up at the others from his position on the floor. They sat on the floor in a semi-circle close to his head but not close enough for him to reach out and touch them.

He then took a deep breath exhale it and began his story, "Although not by blood, I consider him my father or the closest thing I have to a father. I didn't meet him until 5 years after I was 'born' as Jack Frost and before I knew you guys existed. It was after another exciting day of snowball fights and being viciously reminded that no one can see me. I was on my lake making sure it stayed frozen though I didn't know why I did that until after I got my memories back. I look up from my handy work and he's suddenly there with no sound standing at the edge of my lake in front of me staring with his two different colored eyes that seemed to glow. I was so surprised that I jumped back a little and almost slipped and fell on the new layer of ice that I just made. He asked if I was the one that started 'the battles of snow' and I asked him in shock if he could see and hear me because this would be the first time that someone could see me. He said exactly, 'Yes. Should I not be able to?'

I was so happy that someone could finally see me that I forgot all about his question and didn't realize until he kept staring at me expectantly so I answered that I was. He spoke to himself for a little bit and then asked if I wanted to join his pack. Of course, I had no idea what he was saying and told him that. He said, 'A pack is something akin to a group of close friends but has a bond stronger than a blood-related family. Inside a pack, there are no secrets because you help your other pack members survive in this cruel world. Although I am a lone wolf and is not bound to any pack, I still wish to make a pack starting with you. I warn you now that we might not have any other pack members. Do you still wish to join my wolf pack?'

Considering the fact that not only can he see me, which blew my mind, but was also offering me a bond stronger than a family has, I said yes. I had no idea who or what he was or what he could do; but at that moment I wasn't think about that, I was thinking that we just started a bond that nothing could break. At least that was what I thought at the time.

In the time that we spent together, Alpha taught me how to control my powers and how dangerous they were. He taught me almost every language that existed whether or not it was spoken aloud didn't matter and just about everything he knew of the world. We didn't keep secrets from each other like he said, so he knew everything about me and I knew everything about him. I told him what little I knew of my past given that I only remember 5 years of it and how the spirits sometimes chase me and beat me if they caught me. When he heard that, he started teaching how to fight with my staff and hand-to-hand combat and a little bit using my powers. I probably worked the hardest in my life because he kept pointing out my mistakes at every chance he got and I didn't want to disappoint him.

From what he told me about his past, he is the last of seven other 'brothers' that were scattered across the globe. One for each continent except the seventh for he was their leader or has he would say 'alpha' and would go wherever he wanted to. The continent that Alpha was given to watch over was what we call North America. He never told me exactly how old he is but he would only said that he was here when the first battle began whether it was physical, verbal, mental, or spiritual. He once told me that he wasn't always able to go through the shadows like he does now and that before he had to walk to every battle. He said that he got this power by somehow merging with a human who answered his 'call' as he was about to die. On how he did this, he never told me exactly but I figured that he didn't know exactly how himself. How he looks now is not what he originally looked like and said that when the human and he combined his appearance changed as well. Besides his new found power over shadows, he has the ability to sense when and where a battle is going to start and his fighting skill can't be compared to any human or non-human. The only thing that I think makes him even close to being human is his need to eat. The problem with him though is that he doesn't exactly eat what humans eat and as much as they do. He told me that what he eats are the emotions that people give out while fighting like courage, hope, honor, glory, bravely, rage and fear; but if anyone dies while fighting, he eats their hearts for he said that the heart is 'the origin of emotions'.

It wasn't until about 10 years later that I found out that our bond could be broken. It was when we were camping in the Himalayas for a few days. I just finished spreading snow on the mountains and decided to take a break on one of the mountains. I saw him coming out of a cave that had a little space where you could stand so I landed there and that was when he decided that we should split up. I naturally asked, 'Why?'

He replied, 'I have taught you what I can about this world. Now is the time for you to show that you have listen to what taught you and live on your own. Also being the young wolf that you are, you have to find out where you belong in this world and create your own wolf pack.'

At first, I was speechless but that didn't last long and said, 'So that it? You're just going to leave me out here in the middle of nowhere. I thought you said that we would have a bond stronger than a family!'

He replied calmly, 'We do and always will for we were connected the moment you joined my pack. In a wolf pack, some young wolves stay with the pack they grew up in but others leave the pack to make their own. Any kind of parent knows that there will be a time that their child will have to leave and grow up by themselves. You are human so I must treat you like a human parent would with their child and let them find their own place and way in life. I have taught you everything that I know and now I must leave to see if you have understood what I taught you. Go find your place and make a worthy pack.'

After he said that, he disappeared into the shadows of the cave. That was the last time I got to talk to him besides today. There was times where I got to see him a little bit before he disappeared again. I guess he was checking up on me because one time I woke up to see that he left me a gift, which is how I got the blue hoodie you see today. He must've seen my fight that day because my old clothes were torn beyond repair.

Anyways, you wanted to know my story so there it is. Now tell me what he meant by I'm 'not the only one who needs to tell their story.'" Jack said while getting up to sit cross-legged and turning his head to the other Guardians.

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**A/N: In reality, I wanted to make this chapter around 2,000 words; but as you can see, it got away from me and ended up being 3,980 (ten pages on Microsoft Word)...I guess that is better for you as readers, huh?**

**Thank you for those who reviewed. Seriously, I cannot thank you guys enough.**

**Please review and I hope to see you all in the next chapter.**


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